Inerasable Sin
by TurtleChamp
Summary: Hi Botty, today Don and I watched a whole marathon of Star Trek. I love it when he can quote the lines to perfection! Seriously, there's no cooler turtle out there than Don! SAINW; read Mikey's diary as he enters the life changing events.
1. Prologue

New York was coated in the murky grey ashes from the fiery remains of craters. Demising moonlight reflected weakly off the encrusted shards hammered into the roads by the feet of rioters. The foul odour of alcohol and smoke filled lungs all around. However, despite the gloomy atmosphere, drunken singing and happy cries echoed across the streets broken only by the occasion gunshot in an alleyway. The depression was being lifted, and people were discovering a new hope for their future. _Freedom. _The word many had never known the meaning off was finally being tasted, and it was delicious.

Not everyone was joining in with the celebrations. A solitude figure stood by the rigged wired fencing that once protected the beautiful landscape of the Central Park. She watched her followers getting high on their joy, a feeble smile upon her weather beaten face that did not reach her eyes. It had barely been a week since his end. Much had happened in that short amount of time; Prisoners freed, labour camps destroyed, streets back in their control. Even his supporters were slowly dispersing and still there was plenty left to do. So much to rejoice about. And, at the same time, nothing.

For his downfall had come at a valuable price.

With a deep inhale of the polluted air, she took to a walk. She could not think here for while the Shredder may not be around, his supporters still were. The Foot ninjas were determined to maintain a hold but it was breaking and fast. The symbol was already made a mockery off with crudely drawn parts added to it, no doubt done by the youths, and the flickering images of the Shredder from the broken screens were hardly as threatening anymore. These were only the beginning of the signs of what had happened but it did not ease the pain settled within her heart nor the cloudy haze in her mind from unanswered questions.

The biggest was 'why'. But it was one question that she knew she may never get an answer for.

She paused.

Her wandering feet had absent-mindedly taken her to the crumbled ruins of what was the turtles lair. She had not been here in decades... The feeble smile on her face grew slightly as the faint reminder of laughter tickled her inside. How ironic that she came here of all places in the moment of great need. Yes... maybe, just maybe, she would seek her answers from the place where it all began. Yet when she placed a foot upon the rumble, the uneasiness returned to her. Was it too soon? Their loss still weighed heavily on her and she could barely get through the discussion of their burial arrangements without the tears flooding her face.

As the mental battle raged on, a sound was heard from behind her. Instinctively, she turned with her hand upon the grenades she kept upon her. What she saw made her hand drop and the laugh finally set free.

A small orange kitten stared up at her with its large orb eyes, its tail flickering pleasantly behind it. If that wasn't a sign of something then she didn't know what would be. She knelt down and stretched out her hand, tempting it to come closer. The cat tilted its head before it gingerly walked towards her. Its nose stiffed at her hand in interest. She raised her hand, slowly making move to stroke its head but the cat suddenly retreated then darted into the lair.

April slowly raised to her feet and watched it till it ran from sight. Without another second of hesitation, she made after it.

It is strange... Strange how the broken appearence could still bring back such fond memories. For a moment she felt like the young naive woman she had once been. Her hand automatically clenched over her chest as her eyes surveyed the remains of the lair; a few busted televisions laid crumbled against a wall, an old punching bag was gutted upon the floor, the sofa completely moth eaten and stained with red, and blackened marks from lasers. In all this horror, the feeling of home still lingered on. She wondered if any of the turtles had ever returned to it...

Her gaze transferred from the ruins to the rooms that the turtles slept.

She had never been inside them before out of respect for their privacy. But maybe... maybe just having their things around her may help.

Her aging body was no barrier to her swift movements upwards. The first room she came across was easily Leonardo's. It clearly was kept neat in the past but now it was a dust coated and crumbled. The bed had been smashed, kanji paintings torn from the walls and further cuts engraved into the wooden furniture. Her experiences in the matter told her that this was not done from the course of a battle... but more out of blind fury. Someone had, many years ago, entered into this room and tore it apart. It angered her that Leo's memory was tarnished in such a way but little could be done by now.

With a soft sigh she headed over towards the next room. It took her a moment to realise whose room this was. Yet the grease stains told her who. Raphael. This was in better condition than Leo's but the dust made her coughed when she entered it. If it wasn't for that then it would be like walking into a portal to the past. Even weight lifting equipment was collected in the far corner. The hammock still held a few remains of magazines. Those she decided not to look at knowing how similiar Raphael and Casey were.

Ouch.

She quickly left the room after that thought. Nothing was being felt except bitter regret and hurt. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea. Her hand brushed away the few tears forming in her eyes. No, it didn't feel right to not go on from here. So with great mental pressure, she pressed onto into the next. Ah yes, this had to be Michelangelo's. The comics spawn out across the floor was a big giveaway. There was even one upon the bed that looked as though it was halfway through being read. April's feet brushed against the empty wrappers as she walked inside. Not even the dust could cover the brightly colour posters added to every inch of the wall.

Her trained eyes then spotted an item that was not coated in dust. In unnerved her slightly for it meant that someone had been here, and fairly recently. Another moment of hesitation. It was a diary, even more private than a personal room...

It was one of the little items in the lair that was left undamaged she noticed as she turned it over in her hand. Someone had taken great lengths to preserve what little piece of the past they had. Another half hearted laugh. It was clear from the cover to whom this belonged to. Carefully drawn pictures had been decorated upon it with a vast amount of stickers. Turtles mostly. He was such a child... a perfectly annoying yet loveable child.

Desperate to feel them near, she dared to open it.

_Hi Botty! I'm the great Michelangelo! Ninja turtle, Turtle Titan, Battle Nexus Champion! See! Not just a pretty face!_

There he was - The young Mikey. His rough handwriting clearly printed out upon the paper. She could even hear his childish voice inside her mind as she read. It was almost as though he was standing behind her, peering over her shoulder and reading aloud from a book she was trying to read.

_I was going to sketch in here but Master Splinter (he's our rat father and sensei) said it was for recording down thoughts cause I get easily distracted– or something like that. I kinda stopped listening. Raph reckons it's going to be empty but that's Raph. He's always saying stuff like that, he's probably jealous of my unique way of thinking - that's what Donnie calls it._

Brothers. That's how they were. But in the later half of life they came to forgot that right to the moment of death. It was almost heart-breaking to know that at the time this was written the turtles had no idea what was in store for them. What if they did know...? Would all this have been prevented? That was one of the many 'what if' questions she had along with the 'why'.

_He's the smart one but half the time it's hard to know what he's saying. Leo is my oldest bro and it was his idea to name you Botteshelly or something like that... He thought it would be clever to name you after an artist like the rest of us. _

_Mmmm I fancy spagetty now (is that how you spell it?). _

_Bon Appetite! (I asked Don to spell that one!)_

Smudged strains that could have only been sauce told that Mikey had got his 'spagetty'. The smile was there again, becoming more real with each of his words that she read.

_Bonjour Bots!_

_Apparently it's not respectful to cover your brother in clingfilm when crashed out on the sofa. Luckily, Leo came to my rescue by giving the usual Splinter Jr speech before Raph could mop the ground with me. I'm now grounded, but it's Raph fault for not going to bed! Besides, I did provide him with air holes._

How could she not laugh at that? She remembered that day so clearly. Raph had stalked off with Casey that night and didn't come back until after sunrise. Casey had taken the same action as Raph and crashed down upon her sofa. Only April had placed a blanket over him instead of clingfilm...

April fell back onto Mikey's bed and snuggled against the pillow with the diary propped up against her legs. With each page came a new entry to tickle April's younger side, fresh memories to bathe in, and warm feelings that spread right down to her knees. Getting comfortable, she read on.


	2. Year 2005

Two bright blue eyes peered through the side of the doorway, alive with curiosity, at the direction of the turtle inside the room. The second had sweat trickling down through his red eye mask yet his breathing remained steady with every strike at the punching bag. The first flinched as the punching bag took a sharp hit that caused it to swing back into its attacker. The turtle snarled and sent a quick kick that knocked it to the ground. Still unsatisfied, the red masked one moved onto the next piece of equipment to quench his anger.

Blue eyed one lingered for another few minutes before daring to confront his brother. With a big smile and a heartily wave, he pounced over to the larger. Despite the warm greeting, the larger male gave a sharp glare that silenced him before speaking. The words spoken did not appear to please the first for his smile faded slightly but he shrugged it off and bounded out of the room. Eager for attention, he crept into the room of another.

The lights from the computers cast an eerie glow over the working turtle. His head was held within his hands and thoughts were being echoed out loud in a mutter. As this was often normal behaviour, the first didn't press on with it. He bounded over with a skip in his step and leapt up to sit upon the table beside his brother. The turtle glanced up from his hands and spoke towards his younger brother in a soft tone. The orange-masked one shrugged again and questioned his thought. The genius frowned slightly but gave a reply that relaxed the younger. A talk quickly issued and by the end they had lightened the mood with a laugh that only ceased with the sound from one of the computers. Before the younger could question that too, the genius dismissed him from his lab.

* * *

><p><em>Hey Botty, do you have any idea how long 'eternal' is?<em>

_Raph is still pretty pissed off with me so I went to Don and asked him how long it takes for Raph to cool down nowadays. He said something about Raph getting restless because there's been nothing heard about on the Purple Dragons. Oh right! You don't know! The Purple Dragons are the local thugs that love getting their asses whooped by the turtlely awesome Ninja Turtles! I bet they finally learnt their lesson but Don thinks Hun wouldn't accept defeat so easily. He said something about it being the calm before a storm – like when Leo and Raph have an argument and they have the silent ignore each other stage before they snap! Wow, now that can be pretty scary!_

_In the meantime, Master Splinter has been having an uncertain feeling and making us train every second of the day! What's the point? If the Purple Dragons are having a holiday, then I want one too! Even baddies need a few days off work but this comment earned me an extra hour of training. Unfair! My legs are so sore I'm going to need those crutches again! I never did have that race around the lair against Klunk with them - I can do that now!_

* * *

><p><em>Run, Bots, run! It's a ghost town here!<em>

_April and Casey came over today; they're our human pals. Case's a bonehead but he managed to calm down Raph's mood for the first time in ages. April is the best though! She got me the latest comic for my collection! She always has a soft spot for me, and it's hard not to! What's not to love? She even protests against Don to letting me stay in the lab. Later she asked me if he was alright. Weird. Don seemed perfectly normal to me. He usually hides out in his lab for days on end. It's what Raph would call typical nerd behaviour. He would live in there if Leo and Splinter didn't drag him out for training and patrols!_

_Later we headed topside after Leo almost dragged Don out again. Talking about strange. We were racing each other, they were all following behind me really, when we caught sight of something at the docks. It was the Purple Dragons taking shipment but before we could get any closer the Foot ninja showed up. They must have been training more intensely than us; we can still feel their improvements! By the time we kicked them back the Dragons had driven off. We tried hunting around for them in the Battle shell, but they had vanished completely!_

* * *

><p>A new figure became known on the streets of New York City. He stood upon the top of a skyscraper, the full moon lit up behind him in his latest costume. It was the perfect superhero silhouette. True, it had taken him a while to find the spot but he was proud all the same.<p>

His hands on his hips, he watched over the streets just waiting for the latest crook to make his appearance.

* * *

><p><em>I did forget to say how unbelievable I was?<em>

_Turtle Titan roamed the streets again last night! I had to wait until everyone was busy (Leo and Raph were arguing over the whole PD thing while Don tried to settle them down. Don doesn't get angry often but when he does even Raph runs for it!) before I could sneak out but thanks to my amazing ninja skills I got away without being spotted! Silver Sentry was there and together we caught a lots of robbers trying to break into a bank (must have been about three of them!). That's what I like about being a superhero, you can fight any crime and save people! When a ninja you have to stay in the shadows and don't get the thanks you deserve. I like helping people and I like seeing them happy! It's not easy to do that in the shadows. I didn't see anymore of the PD or the Foot. Maybe they were just collecting fish food for a sushi night?_

_Halloween is tonight! My outfit is already done! I was planning to go as Turtle Titan but Halloween has to be scary! So I thought of the scariest outfit ever! I would win a contest with this idea!_

* * *

><p>A scientist, a pirate and a samurai sat around the room. The pirate was stretched out on the sofa, a sour expression written over his face. The fake hook hand he had made himself was carving into the already torn parts of the sofa out of impatience. He gave a snappy comment towards the samurai who did not respond. Instead he crossed his arms over his robes and called out into the direction of the youngest bedroom. A quick reply was shouted back which made the pirate scowl and turn towards the scientist. Out of the three of them he was the one who made the least amount of effort on his costume and simply grabbed his lab coat and specs. Even now he was giving glances towards his laboratory as he tried to fight the mental battle of going back inside.<p>

At last the door opened and the oldest looked up to see the last of their party enter in their newly formed outfit. The corners of the samurai's mouth twitched and he quickly turn to hide his laughter. The new arrival crossed his arms over his plastron with an uncharacteristic frown on his face as he made a rude comment back. The scientist took an admirable response, amused at how little change was done to their usual outfit that gave off the greater effect.

The youngest walked inside with heavy footing, purposely throwing his shoulders and arms around to give of the illusion of throwing his weight around. The pirate raised with eyebrows, one not seen behind the eye patch, at his brother. Instead of the usual orange mask it was dyed to a darker shade of red.

His splitting image could not resist a few well chosen phrases that was quickly cut by a high-pitch yelp that issued from the youngest as the tallest tackled him to the ground.

* * *

><p><em>Hey Botty, can you read minds? Wish I could!<em>

_I got bored inside the lair, Raph was flicking through channels probably looking for any news of what the PD were up too, Don refused to leave his lab, Leo was training and Splinter was meditating, so headed out to the sewers. I found a new part of the sewers for skateboarding! It was great! I can't see why humans hate the sewers so much! Sure it smells and it's damp, but there's a huge playground right beneath their feet!_

_But weirder yet, April maybe onto something. I had just sneaked back in when I heard angry mutters from the lab. It's pretty normal for Donnie to be in there this late, but when I opened the door he looked almost... I dunno what ya call it. I don't think 'scared' covers it. It was pretty freaky. And freakier yet, he snapped at me. The good old innocent glance calmed him down though. Maybe he's just overworked. I can cure that! No one's better than skipping work than me!_

* * *

><p>Soft snoring emitted from the large turtle on the sofa. His head was tilted back while the rest of him took up the rest of the room. At such times he may have had a few doodles scribbled over himself but the mischievous one had his mind occupied on something else. The smaller turtles were sitting crossed legged upon the floor, barely noticing what they were taking from the many bags and bowls around them as their eyes remained glued upon the television set.<p>

Clearly the amusement was not to the standard of everyone. The blue masked one had settled himself in the chair with a book rested against his lap as he read in the company of his brothers. He had been granted with the gift over the years of being able to block out his chatter from his brothers so he was easily capable of reading without distraction.

The opening titles of the next episode soon passed and the familiar craft was shown. The youngest stared open mouthed at the screen while his brainy brother whispered the quotes. After many minutes of this the youngest finally noticed what the brainy one was doing and turned his attention to him. The brainy laughed lightly at his question and continued on quoting from the show without looking at the screen. The impression of having complete mind control over the characters became too much for them and they burst out into laughter until their sides became sore.

This woke up the largest snoring on the sofa. With an irritable sigh, he picked up the cushion beside him and tossed it into the back of the brainy's head. The youngest quickly reacted by tossing pieces of popcorn that the brainy one joined in with. A war of cushions and popcorn followed these actions, the fourth still blocking out the events around him while moving his head to the side to avoid flying food.

That was until a large toss of the sofa cushion knocked the genius into his leader, the force of which caused the chair to tumble over backwards. The orange and red masked ones cracked up as the two fallen turtles picked themselves up, giving the perfect moment for a counter attack from the leader.

The rat remained by the doorway, smiling as he watched his sons break into a play fight. His smile soon faded as his gaze slipped away from them and towards the land above them - a troubled frown crossing his aging face.

* * *

><p><em>Hi Botty! <em>

_Today, Don and I watched a whole marathon of Star Trek. I love it when he can quote the lines to perfection! Seriously, there's no cooler turtle out there than Don! Then we got into this fight that Raph claimed to have won but he must have forgotten the bit where Leo totally got him on his shell! I'm still coated in toffee popcorn! It's going to take ages to get out of my shell. Don's head out to get some pieces from the scrapyard so he got to use the shower first. Raph is in there at the moment (I was in there first but he dragged me out before I could turn on the shower!). We really need more than one shower, especially after the intense training with Splinter._

_When Don gets back I'll ask him if we can get another one! Klunk needs feeding now, I think all the popcorn (took us ages to tidy it all) has got him hungry!_

* * *

><p>The rat headed into the main room of the third time in half an hour. His face fell as he spotted only three turtles sitting around, all of them either staring at the clock or their phones. None of them were as restless as the red masked one, who took to pacing to keep his temper under control. When the clock chimed two, however, he shot an livid glare towards the blue masked one who argued back with the same intense tone.<p>

The rat's worry turned into annoyance as he entered onto the scene. He gave a comment or two to his sons that silenced them then looked over towards the youngest who was stroking his cat in silence. His tone grew softer as he gave them the order to seek out what had become of the forth. The three turtles nodded and moved swiftly into action.

Their father watched them leave in silence. His eyes the only part that showed his worry as he prayed they would be able to find him without any trouble unlike so many times previously.

* * *

><p><em>Botty, why don't you come with a free a SAT Nav?<em>

_Donnie is still out, we couldn't find him. We headed over to the scrapyard but the Professor said that he had not seen Don there. After a quick search we decided to call in Casey and April. Neither of them had seen them but with the extra eyes we still couldn't find him. Raph is fuming and reckons he may have got himself into trouble but Leo says that we would have gotten word about it if so. I dunno, I reckon Don just decided to go on a trip. Leo's done it when he started acting weird, maybe Don thought he would do the same? I'm going to try his shellcell again when I've finished here. _

_He could have taken me with him! A holiday would have been fun with the two of us! Though Raph and Leo would probably kill each other if they're left alone._


End file.
